The attraction of Konami’s lately launched Castlevania assortment is, in principle, that it’s a brand new strategy to play three meaty Castlevania adventures from the Nintendo DS period (Castlevania: Daybreak of Sorrow, Portrait of Wreck, and Order of Ecclesia). However the spotlight for me, an avowed and longtime hater of the 1987 recreation Haunted Citadel, is one thing new: Haunted Citadel Revisited, a remake of Konami’s terrible try and convey Simon Belmont’s battle towards Dracula to arcades.
Konami launched the unique Haunted Citadel a couple of 12 months after the unique Castlevania got here to Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System in 1986. A reimagining of Simon’s authentic journey, Haunted Citadel sends our hero on a mission to rescue his new bride Selena from her kidnapper Dracula. Armed with a whip and different collectible weapons, Simon faces acquainted threats like Medusa, Frankenstein’s monster, and an enormous rock golem.
The unique Haunted Citadel did have just a few issues going for it — specifically giant sprites and catchy music. However Haunted Citadel was punishingly tough, awkward to manage, and poorly animated. The unique Castlevania was difficult, too, however Haunted Citadel’s issue spikes had been brutal and sometimes unfair, seemingly designed to steal quarters from harmless younger gamers who beloved the NES authentic and had been lured in by fancy graphics. (This harmless younger participant is me.)
Haunted Citadel Revisited takes the essential framework of the unique Haunted Citadel and transforms it right into a basic Castlevania motion side-scroller. Developer M2 and Keisuke Koga, who designed Castlevania: The Journey Rebirth, a slick remake of the primary Recreation Boy Castlevania recreation, are answerable for turning Haunted Citadel round in 2024. The developer has streamlined the issue, redesigned ranges and enemy encounters, and given Haunted Citadel a significant graphical glow-up with Revisited. Simon is now properly animated and far simpler to manage.
On the sport’s regular issue setting, Haunted Citadel Revisited is fairly simple to finish, partially because of beneficiant checkpoints, continues, and an possibility to pick out ranges from the primary menu. There’s a tough issue setting, too, which remixes enemy layouts and introduces new enemy variants that aren’t within the regular setting. The laborious model is extremely enjoyable — difficult, however not punitively tough.
The most important improve in Haunted Citadel Revisited is the sport’s bosses. They’ve all been reimagined in a roundabout way, however two of the (six) boss fights stand out among the many relaxation: the Stained Glass Knight and the ultimate battle towards Dracula himself. I gained’t spoil them, as a result of they’re value experiencing for your self, however they’re now ingenious and thrilling spectacles.
M2 has even given Simon’s whip an improve. Like different basic Castlevania video games, Simon can energy up his iconic weapon from customary leather-based bull whip to morning star by accumulating orbs. Haunted Citadel Revisited provides an additional layer to this; As soon as Simon’s whip is upgraded, any orbs he collects will give him a short lived energy up, giving it larger attain and a wider hurtbox. It’s a small element, but it surely provides a way of urgency to play — you’ll need to get probably the most out of your super-charged whip whilst you can.
Haunted Citadel Revisited might not be the most important attract Konami’s new Castlevania Dominus Assortment, however for fellow Castlevania lovers who performed and despised the unique Haunted Citadel, the remake is value enjoying. It has reworked a blight on the franchise right into a fresh-feeling, basic Castlevania recreation, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a few years.
Castlevania Dominus Assortment was launched Aug. 27 on Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Collection X. The sport was reviewed utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Nintendo. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought by way of affiliate hyperlinks. Yow will discover further details about epicgamejourney’s ethics coverage right here.
